Last Saturday, I finally went to see the Adolf Cluss exhibit at the Sumner School in DC. I’d been meaning to do so for a month or two. This German immigrant designed a number of buildings in DC in the late 19th century including the Arts & Industries building next to the Smithsonian castle, Calvary Baptist Church in Chinatown, and the Sumner School (across the street from National Geographic hq.).
He also had some connections to Baltimore:
- he was married in Zion church in 1858
- he designed the Concordia Opera House (Eutaw & Redwood), which burned down in 1891
What I found as interesting was his politics: he was a Communist. We’re talking O.G., here, ‘cause Communism emerged in the 1840s. Before emigrating to America, he was a secretary of the Mainz branch of the Communist League. In 1847, he went to Brussels and met Karl Marx and other Communists and sympathizers who were living there.
Can’t remember the exact reasons given for his moving to America, but it was probably for his political activity. I think he was trying to evade arrest by the police.
When he lived in DC, he corresponded with Marx. One of the latter’s letters to him (Oct., 1853) was displayed.
In addition to artifacts, pictures, and text, there were interactive parts of the exhibit.
There were various audio stations where you could listen to collages of sounds taken from contemporary activities in buildings associated with Cluss’s youth in Heilbron,
(Germany). There also was an audio station for Eastern Market (another of his DC buildings).
Various desktop computers were also put to use. One station had two monitors or screens, side by side. One showed a map of Heilbron. You could click on it and start a journey along a street. As a spot moved on the map, the other screen showed a view of a camera moving through a tiny scale model of the town. The view was synchronized to the point on the map.
Another computer show stereoviews of old and new pictures of Cluss’s buildings and travels. These versions of photos used the pseudo-3d method of parallel offset red and green images and required you to wear one of the red/green plastic/paper goggles provided.
For more info., check the commemorative website: www.adolf-cluss.org